1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of storing callers' telephone numbers transmitted by callers during an automatic telephone answering state in a memory, and particularly to a method of storing callers telephone numbers received in during an automatic telephone answering state in a memory in a vehicle telephone system activated to store only callers' telephone numbers received during an automatic telephone answering state in the memory when a vehicle owner is absent or to store the same together with callers' names therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a growing demand for a mobile or vehicle telephone system from the standpoint of an increase in motorization, business, safety, etc. This type of vehicle telephone system is provided with convenient various functions such as a function (1) for storing a plurality of callers' telephone numbers and names in a memory so as to display respective ones of the telephone numbers and the names on a display window as needed, an abbreviating/calling function (2) for setting up, as an abbreviated telephone number, each of memory or storage areas in a memory for storing telephone numbers and names therein so as to make a call using the thus-shortened telephone number, and an automatic telephone answering function (3).
More specifically, callers' telephone numbers and callers' names are registered in advance on storage areas of 00 to 99 in a first memory (telephone number storage unit), and suitably displayed on a display window. Alternatively, storage areas of two figures or digits are associated with abbreviated numbers. When an abbreviated number (storage area) is inputted, data indicative of a telephone number corresponding to the inputted abbreviated number is read from the first memory so as to make a call. Otherwise, a caller's telephone number received at the time that a vehicle owner is absent is stored as data in a second memory (callers-telephone-number-in-subscriber's-absence storage unit), and displayed on the display window as necessary.
It is convenient if a caller's name as well as a caller's telephone number can be stored in the second memory for storing therein the caller's telephone number received when the vehicle owner is absent.
A caller can transmit his own telephone number with relatively ease. However, the caller must carry out cumbersome operations when it is desired to send even a caller's name, and hence requires much time to do so.
There has thus been a demand for methods capable of storing caller's names in memories together with callers telephone numbers with ease.
Therefore, the present invention provides a method of storing a caller's telephone number transmitted from a caller during automatic telephone answering state in a memory, the method being capable of automatically storing even a callers name in the memory if the caller simply transmits only his own telephone number to a receiver.
On the other hand, when it is desired to permit storage of a caller's name, the time of each incoming call, etc. as well as a caller's telephone number as data in the second memory for storing therein the callers telephone number received when the vehicle owner is absent, a considerable capacity is required for each telephone number, and only twenty telephone numbers or so can be stored at the utmost in terms of the manufacturing cost. Thus, if twenty telephone calls or more are made by callers during an automatic telephone answering state, then already-stored old telephone numbers are erased so as to store the latest twenty telephone numbers in the second memory.
Busy businessmen normally receive many telephone calls when they are leaving their cars. Therefore, they suitably make phone calls to the calling parties who made their calls in their absence as soon as they return to their cars, thereby to erase data indicative of the so-received telephone numbers from storage areas. However, they must leave their cars before they make telephone or reply calls to all the callers' telephone numbers. In this case, the number of accumulated incoming calls exceeds the storable capacity, and the old data stored in the memory are erased therefrom.
Therefore, a problem takes place in that a telephone call cannot be made to each of the calling parties whose telephone numbers erased from the memory.